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Reducing bills newsletter summer 2013 (a4 single page)

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Accreditation Update
Reducing Bills
Going Green
Summer 2013 #1
Green Knowledge Café #1
Top tips for a successful campaign
Free support from Smarter Working
West Midlands and DTA Wales
Case studies
Pages 2-3
Funding, events and advice
The Green Deal: What does it mean
for you?
Funding opportunities
Dates for your diary
Page 4
Contents
Did you know your museum is part
of a group of 13 museums across
the region which has signed up to
the Greening Museums project?
The 2½ year programme, supported by the
West Midlands Museum Development Officers
(MDOs), will help museums reduce their
energy, waste and water bills and minimise
their negative effect on the planet. Reducing
Bills by Going Green will help museums
survive financially and, in our own little way, to
protect the planet.
At the beginning of 2013 each museum had
an environmental assessment from
Birmingham based community
environmentalists Northfield Ecocentre. They
found that 9 of our sites together:
lSpend on energy a year
lUse a year
lThis is the equivalent of
in an
average petrol car
It's all a bit of a waste!
The assessments also made a series of no,
low and higher cost recommendations for
each site. Some museums have already
started taking actions to change; others are
still at the beginning stage. Each museum has
agreed to:
This will help you know when your actions are
making a difference. We will all share the
impact at regular meetings. A template to help
you to monitor usage and cost is available on
the project blog.
£586,999.58
1,311 tonnes of CO2
travelling 1.4
times around the equator
1. Take monthly readings of energy
use and bills
2. Write a simple policy and plan
3. Set out short and long term goals
This will help to clarify what you want to
achieve and how. It will stop ideas being
ignored or left on the shelf. Visit the
Reducing Bills blog for example policies.
These priorities will be achievable and
measurable, for example 'we aim to reduce
our electricity bills by 20% by March 2015' or
'we will cut water use by 10% in 12 months'.
The MDOs will be helping you along the way.
The group will meet about 3 times a year to
share experiences and support each other.
The MDOs will also run training, support
funding applications and provide resources.
Everyone at the museum, even your visitors,
can be part of the change; talk to your
managers about how you can get involved.
The next Green Museums Knowledge
Café is on Thursday 19th September
at Coventry Transport Museum.
Keep up to date with the latest news at:
www.greeningmuseums.wordpress.com

2.
In May the Reducing Bills cohort met in
Birmingham for our first Green Museums
Knowledge Café. This was an opportunity
to share what has already been learnt and
what we want to achieve in the future.
We all share common problems and ideas
for change. Across the cohort, thermal
imaging illustrated heat losses from:
lPoorly or un-insulated plant and pipes
lDraughty doors and windows
lThe fabric of the building, for example
from the roof
Common areas for improvement included:
lMotivating the workforce
lInstalling or improving heating controls
lFitting draught proofing
lReducing lighting and replacing some
bulbs with LEDs
Motivating other staff and volunteers to get
involved and share their ideas for
improvements will be the key to your
museum’s success. Here are Northfield
Ecocentre’s top tips for getting your
colleagues on side.
Top tips for a successful campaign
Share other organisations’ successes. For
example, “Merseyside Fire and Rescue
Service made lighting improvements
costing £10,842 and are now saving
£2,184 and 16 tonnes of CO2 a year. If we
turned off unnecessary lights we could
reduce energy use by up to 45%”.
Aim to raise awareness about consumer
energy efficiency in the home to get the
workforce on board. The Energy Saving
Trust has lots of ideas for saving money
room by room. People will transfer relevant
ideas to the workplace.
Show how positive small steps can make
an impact. For example, “Just turning
thermostats down by 1 degree can lower
our heating costs by 3%”.
1. Balance facts with good news
2. Use domestic energy information
3. Promote small scale actions
4. Create a team spirit
5. Help people relate to your message
6. Money talks
7. Keep refreshing the message
Emphasise the collective aspect of the initiative.
What are you hoping to achieve for the
museum? Share your monitoring data to
encourage everyone to work together to reduce
energy usage and meet this common goal.
Terms like carbon footprint or tonnes of CO2
can be too abstract. Focus on change that is
specific to your organisation rather than trying
to save the planet. Research shows that people
favour changes that reduce waste; are reliable,
accessible and safe; and improve on what has
gone before. Use these themes to shape your
messages.
Use monetary values in combination with an
environmental message. For example, “Turning
off our computers at night will save us £25 a
year for each computer and do our bit for the
environment”.
Posters and stickers are good at first are later
often ignored. They will need refreshing from
time to time. You could email weekly energy
facts to ensure that the message is not lost.
8. Be interesting!
9. Stay positive
10. Put green on the agenda
A message such as 'Please turn off the taps'
can seem a bit dull. “Leaving a tap running
wastes more than 6 litres of water a minute” is
much more compelling and gives people a
clear reason to act.
Focus on the positive aspects of people's
actions and what can be achieved rather than
trying to guilt people into change.
Discuss the progress of your sustainability
plan at team meetings. Use this time to get the
team on side and report on your successes.
Where can we begin to make changes?
With your policy, plan and the support of your
colleagues there are lots of simple, practical
measures you can take to start to change.
Smarter Working West Midlands and the
Energy Buying Group (DTA Wales and
Touchstone) are just two organisations offering
to help the Reducing Bills group.
Join us at future Knowledge Cafés to hear
about other exciting opportunities available to
your museum or ask your MDO for advice.
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Knowledge Café #1: What have we learnt and we do we go from here?

3.
Smarter Working West Midlands
Smarter Working West Midlands aims to make
organisations more productive and energy
efficient through new approaches to working
practices, technology and travel.
The Coventry University based project has
received European Regional Development
Funding to work with small to medium
enterprises in the West Midlands, i.e. the
trading arm of your organisation.
The overarching aim of the Smarter Working
project in the West Midlands is to raise the
productivity of organisations while reducing
carbon emissions, through measures and
initiatives which aim to change the way
organisations operate.
Smarter Working offers up to 2 days free
assistance as well as workshops and seminars
to support organisations in the adoption of
smarter working practices. This support will
focus on your premises and working practices.
For more information contact Henry Jerwood at
or visit the
website at
hjerwood@cad.coventry.ac.uk
www.smarterworkingwm.co.uk/
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Chedham’s Yard wins Green
Tourism Business Award
Many congratulations to Chedham's Yard
who has been awarded the Bronze level
of the Green Tourism Business Award.
Chedham's Yard has taken many steps to
reduce its environmental impact. These
include promoting sustainable transport,
fitting low energy light bulbs, using locally
sourced produce, re-cycling waste, using
environmentally friendly cleaning
products, using water butts and installing
composting toilets, solar panels and a
wood burning stove.
Emma Banks, Heritage Project Officer
said: “We are thrilled to have been
awarded the Green Tourism Award which
is testament to the Yard's beliefs in
reducing our environmental impact and
something we are all very proud of.” For
more information on the Award visit
Busy bees at Compton Verney’s
Give and Gain Day
Volunteers from Black Horse (part of the
Lloyds group) have been hard at work at
Compton Verney as part of Give and Gain
Day. Give and Gain Day is a national
initiative to encourage corporate
employees to volunteer for community
groups, schools and local charities.
The volunteers helped to plant over 1,000
wildflowers and bulbs in the historic
parkland. The plants will provide a food
source for the honey bees that have taken
up residence in the new beehives installed
at the gallery. Gary Webb, Head of
Grounds said that the volunteers “really
helped to move the project forward at a
rate that would not otherwise be
achievable”.
The Grounds Team has also recently
launched a blog where you can follow
their progress. Visit
www.green-business.co.uk
http://comptonverney
landscapegarden.wordpress.com/
Case studiesThe Energy Buying Group: Have
you taken advantage of this FREE
service?
The Development Trust Association (DTA)
is a not-for-profit organisation that
provides a free service to help members
to reduce their running costs and energy
consumption. DTA Wales and Touchstone
are used to working with charities and
community properties across England and
Wales and have been recommended to
the Reducing Bills project.
Their Energy Buying Group offers no
obligation quotes based on basic energy
bill information that you provide. DTA
combines the total energy consumption of
their clients to bulk buy energy at
competitive rates, accessing a prime open
market which is otherwise inaccessible to
smaller organisations. This occurs in early
June over a 48 hour period. If you are
happy with the quote you can sign a
contract for at least 2 years.
The large scale energy buying group has
already been a huge success. Sourcing
energy prices via a standard broker cuts
prices by around 10%. On top of this
initial quote, bulk buying energy can
increase savings to 15-25%.
DTA can also provide energy efficiency
and finance advice tailored to suit your
circumstances and can signpost you to
other sources of advice and consultancy.
The advisory service could help you to
reduce energy consumption and costs.
For example, did you know that charities
are excluded from the Climate Change
Levy and pay VAT on energy at just 5%? If
you have been paying a higher rate of VAT
you can claim up to 3 years back.
To get your free, no-obligation quote,
contact Ken Shaw at
For further details on these services and
many other opportunities visit the blog at
kenshaw@dtawales.org.uk
www.greeningmuseums.wordpress.com

4.
Reducing Bills
Green Knowledge Café #2
Date: Thursday 19th September 2013
VENUE: Coventry Transport Museum
Green Knowledge Café #3
Date: Thursday 6th February 2014
(Venue TBC)
Green Knowledge Café #4
Date: Thursday 15th May 2014
(Venue TBC)
Related MDO events
Make Change Happen (Without Pain)
Date: Wednesday 23rd October 2013
VENUE: BVSC, Birmingham
Good governance to encourage
organisational change and motivate
your workforce – invaluable skills for
any green champion seeking to raise
awareness and change behaviour.
Making Space
Date: Tuesday 19th November 2013
VENUE: Fazeley Studios, Birmingham
What does sustainability mean for
collections management? How can we
use our stores and resources more
efficiently? The conference will explore
new approaches to collections
rationalisation and review.
Booking information
For more information on any of these
events please contact your MDO or visit
http://marchesnetwork.org.uk/
Dates for your diary
Biffa Award
Funding for community projects that relate
to any of its themes: rebuilding biodiversity,
community facilities, cultural facilities and
recreation. Small grants of between £250
and £10,000. Main grants of between
£10,000 and £50,000. Your site must be
within 10 miles of a Biffa operation.
Applications welcome at any time.
EDF Community Fund
Grants of up to £30,000 for small-scale,
environmentally friendly energy generation.
Funds any technology that produces heat,
electricity or other power. You can apply for
20% of your award to be put towards
education aspects of your project.
Deadlines at the end of August and
February.
Rural Community Energy Fund
The RCEF supports rural communities to
develop renewable energy projects which
provide economic and social benefits to the
community. Grants of up to £20,000 for
feasibility studies for renewable energy
projects. Open for applications from 28th
June 2013.
The Prince's Countryside Fund
Grants of up to £50,000 for projects that
support the people who care for the
countryside. Projects should tackle 1 of 5
issues including providing training for
young people and educating people about
the value of the countryside. Re-opens for
applications in September 2013.
Veolia
Supports community and environmental
projects. The average grant is between
£20,000 and £40,000. Your site must be in
the proximity of a qualifying Veolia facility.
There are 4 rounds of funding a year; the
next deadline is 4 October 2013.
www.biffa-award.org
www.edfenergy.com
www.wrap.org.uk
www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk
www.veoliatrust.org
Funding
Opportunities
Advice, funding and events
The Green Deal: What
does it mean for you?
Reducing Bills
Going Green
The Green Deal is a package of
funding, loans and industry standards
that the government has developed to
make saving energy easier.
How does it work?
The Commercial Green Deal offers
organisations the opportunity to pay for
energy improvements through the
savings they reap.
The first step is an assessment of the
property and working practices.
Recommendations are based on the
principle that savings made must be
greater than the cost of the work.
The bill payer then talks to the Green
Deal provider who gives details of the
cost, finance and available funding.
When an agreement has been reached,
an authorised Green Deal Installer can
begin work on the agreed energy
saving measures.
How do we pay for improvements?
Green Deal repayments appear on your
energy bill as a separate charge. There
are no up-front costs; these are spread
over a period of 1-25 years.
The cost is attached to the electricity
meter, rather than the occupant
therefore the Green Deal is most
effective if the building is owned or
occupied under a long term tenancy
agreement.
To find out more visit
www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-
saving-measures
www.greeningmuseums.wordpress.com
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